Disclaimer: Buffy and all related characters are property of Joss Whedon and some other people. All Lord of the Rings characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkein.
Beta: MarzBar


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Chapter 3: The 411

Buffy looked at herself in the mirror, examining outfit number bazillion and five. What was one supposed to wear to a medieval dimension? She let out an exaggerated sigh and plopped down on her king sized bed. Choosing outfits used to come so easily, but now all her clothes just seemed to lose appeal. She’d rather just sit around in her pajamas all day and brood in front of the window.

Brooding.

That was one of the things that annoyed her so much about Angel but didn’t seem to matter when she did it herself. Thinking and reflecting had become her number one habit since… It happened. Suddenly the spot on the ceiling looked very interesting.

Avoiding.

Habit number two. She avoided her friends, her family and, most importantly, her problems. Her instincts told her to sweep everything under the rug even though that probably wasn’t the smartest of things to do. It was what she had always done and what she would always do. That much wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.

A knock on the door roused her from her thoughts.

“You almost ready in there?” Dawn’s voice came through the door. “Xander and Willow are here already.”

Buffy glanced at the clock and groaned. She had been in her room getting dressed for three hours and still didn’t have an outfit. She quickly grabbed the closest thing to her and threw it on before running downstairs to greet her friends.

Buffy’s smile widened as she caught sight of Xander and Willow; it always made her marginally happier when they were around. Seeing familiar faces was a great comfort in, for lack of a better phrase, a whole new world. She could hear the singing in her head already.

Willow she hadn’t seen in a very long while. She had been studying with and helping the Coven and rarely left to visit those from the past. Kennedy had tried to go with her, but it didn’t seem to have worked out. Buffy personally thought that the Coven had been so annoyed with her that they kicked her out. That’s what she would have done anyway.

Xander wasn’t one to stray far from home, however. He owned a small house not too far from the Council, and even closer to Buffy. He was never really one to have gone off on his own, and it probably wasn’t within his physical capability to stay too far away from Buffy, for which she was grateful. It was like old times, he would be there for her when she was feeling down, and he always had a sarcastic remark at the ready. Aside from Dawn, he was really the only one keeping her going.

Willow brightened when she saw Buffy and immediately pulled her into her embrace.

“I missed you so much,” Buffy sighed.

“Apparently,” Willow managed to choke out.

After all these years, Buffy still hadn’t mastered how to hug without squishing. “Sorry,” she instantly squeaked out. “I just really missed you.”

“I know,” said Willow, “I missed you too.”

“Hey, where’s my hug?”

Dawn was standing a few feet away, her hands on her hips in a very ‘Buffy’ way.

“I missed you too, Dawnie,” Willow said, giving the younger girl a hug as well. In all of two seconds, Xander had scooped them all into a big group hug, a goofy grin on his face. A plethora of giggles escapted the trio, but came to an abrupt stop when Giles stepped through the threshold.

They all stared at him for good measure before Giles broke the silence. “Hello, all,” he muttered awkwardly. Buffy went over and gave him a hug out of routine. Even if he had turned into a bitter old man, he was still like a father to her.

“Ah, I see some of you have already arrived,” he continued in his let’s-get-down-to-business-tone. “Excellent.”

“Some of?” Dawn inquired. “Who else is coming?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Giles responded. “I phoned roughly twenty people, but I don’t know how many will actually show up.”

Buffy didn’t exactly like the sound of having twenty other people in her house at the same time. They had enough trouble with organized conversations when there were only seven of them, having twenty of them would be Potential-city all over again. She sooo didn’t need that right now.

“I suspect Faith and Wood will be arriving soon,” Giles continued. “Their flight should have landed about an hour ago.”

Buffy was more than a little annoyed by how Giles had set up this entire meeting, which just happened to be at her house. He could have at least filled her in somewhat. Instead he opted for going behind her back and inviting the vast majority of her friends into her own home. It was okay with her that they were coming, but she wasn’t particularly thrilled that Giles had the gall to invite them himself.

Realizing that she was being a bad host, Buffy led everyone into the living room, which had been rearranged for future Scooby meetings. There were a lot more chairs than necessary, but it was still not nearly enough for twenty people. She just hoped people didn’t mind sitting on the floor.

Giles automatically seated himself in the chair at the front of the room, which meant everyone else was facing him.

“So, Giles,” Buffy said, “what’s the what?”

“Well,” he started, taking off his glasses and wiping them in order to assemble his thoughts, “as you all know, I received a distress signal from another dimension through one of my contacts, Gandalf the White. He has called for reinforcements to help them put a stop to a new enemy that has entered their lands, or as they call it, Middle Earth.”

“How serious is it?” asked Xander.

“Quite serious I’m afraid.” Giles placed his glasses back on his head. “According to my research, they have been facing Havnic demons, a species that exists solely to serve their master. They are said to have incredible strength and, unfortunately, a considerable level of intelligence. They tend to attack by way of ambush and don’t usually travel in groups larger than twenty. Unless we can find out who is controlling them, I’m afraid we won’t be able to defeat them. Now is not the time for brute strength.”

That certainly didn’t sound good. If what Giles said were true, they’d have a real hard time defeating them. Buffy had thought this was going to be a quick mission, but now she could see why they were sending in the cavalry. If they waited much longer, Middle Earth would be destroyed.

Buffy jumped when the doorbell rang. It was strange hearing it considering the lack of company they had had lately. Buffy went over and opened the door, only to be attacked in seconds.


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Arwen gazed out her bedroom window, and her face fell. She had a clear view of Osgiliath from her vantage point, so she could see the depressing image of the burning city. Oh how drastically everything had changed. The Osgiliath of the past had stood proudly in the distance, the great protector of the White City. Now it lay in bitter ruins for all to heed as a warning of future destruction.

“Mum?”

Eldarion poked his head through the doorway and gazed at his mother with his big blue eyes. “Why are you sad?”

Arwen opened her arms to him and smiled as he came to sit in her lap. At the age of four, he had an uncanny way of sensing people’s emotions.

“Is it the bad people?” Eldarion whispered, as if by uttering any louder he might be putting himself in danger.

“Yes,” Arwen sighed, “it is, my child.” She paused, reluctant to give him information on something too dark and bleak for his young heart. “The bad men have taken over Osgiliath.”

“They’re not friendly, are they?”

“No, I’m afraid they’re not.”

“Papa will make them go away,” he said firmly. He raised his tiny fist into the air, as if wielding a sword, and waved it about in the air.

“If only it were that simple,” Arwen said, smiling at her son’s adorable display. “Papa is going to need help.”

“Can I help him?” Eldarion asked eagerly.

The thought of her little boy on a battlefield struck her heart, but she did not show it. “Of course you can help him. You can keep his favorite horse company while he’s away, or maybe you could tell him how much you love him.”

Eldarion contemplated this for a moment, scrunching his nose up in the process. “Alright,” he said brightly. He gave Arwen a quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying out the door to find his father. Arwen let out the breath she had been holding; thanking the stars that Eldarion was so easily trusting. It was all she could do to keep him out of danger while that responsibility was still in her hands.


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Buffy gasped for air as she was tackled to the ground.

“Buffy!!”

Andrew squealed in delight, clinging to her like she was his lifesaver. At long last, he was reunited with his favorite heroine, the slayer of the vampyres. Sure Wonder Woman was great and all, but she could never compare to the Slayer, who was destined to be a fierce warrior and a savior to her people. Along with her right hand man, she wielded the mighty power of the stake for many a year, battling evil and struggling for justice. Andrew’s mind reeled as he began to lose himself in past tales of the Slayer and her Vampyre, only to be reminded that his heroes would never be together again.

“Get off me,” Buffy grumbled, picking herself up off the ground. Andrew, who had fallen in a heap as she got up, scrambled to stand. He looked at her sheepishly, quickly apologizing for getting a little overexcited. He sighed in relief when Faith and Wood walked in, thankful for the distraction.

“Hey, B,” Faith said casually, waltzing into her home like she owned the place. She had visited quite a bit in the past, and was more than comfortable with just walking in. Buffy ignored her for the time being and gave Wood a hug. He smiled and returned it before turning his full attention back to Faith. He was so obviously devoted that it was almost too cute.

Giles had patiently waited for everyone to get reacquainted, but he was starting to get fidgety.

“So, ahem, if that’s it we can start the meeting,” he said, clearing his throat. Everyone filed into the living room, and Buffy braced herself for a long spiel. "I have a arranged for you all to receive one of these." He rummaged through his pocket and produced what looked like a small clock on a chain. "When wound up correctly, this little trinket will create a portal that will allow you to enter Middle Earth. I can not impress upon you enough the importance of holding on to this when you reach the other side. It is your only link back to this universe. Also, these portals allow for only one body to pass through in order to avoid letting in some unwanted creature. If one of you loses it, you're stuck." Everyone looked around the room at each other. They didn't exactly like the sound of that.

Willow raised her hand. "How long are we going to be there?"

Giles looked trouble for a moment. "Well, the amulets are set to bring you back after one full year-"

Everyone shouted something along the lines of 'One full year!?!?' Giles held up his hand for silence. "I know that seems like a long time, but we need to take every precaution. We can't very well have you returning before your job is done. And you needn't worry about things here. You will be returned to the very moment you left, which will be in a few hours time. Until then, I think we should all retrieve the supplies from my car and start preparing."